Bonjour!
by Ender McAuthor
Summary: She missed him more than anybody else in Elmore. Every night, she had nightmares about how they met for the last time and never met ever since. Most girls would love to be in her position right now - famous, loved and flirted. But Penny would trade these elements for Gumball.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

A peanut sat on a bench by the river of Danube. She watched as the slow rusty ferries that glided over the water. The girl waited as river shimmered underneath the marmalade sky, feeling the autumn breeze. She knew that the person she was waiting for was not coming any later or soon - or so she thought.

She looked at herself, regretting for what she had done. She stood up, straightening her black beret and dusting her dress while doing so. The peanut turned around to the taxi behind her. There stood two more older peanuts.

"Penny, how was your work as a model?" one of them asked, with a bright smile on her face.

Penny looked at her mother with a grim frown.

"Why do you think I passed Turin?" she asked, in a rather down voice.

Her father noticed the sadness of her daughter, as she said every word. Placing his hand on Penny, he sighed. She gave him a sharp glare, as if he was a stranger that held on to her.

"What's wrong, Penny?"

Penny shoved her father's hand, surprising both of her parents. They saw the angry glint in her eyes and her clenched fists. Her beret fell to an angle that made it seem to fall. The bright grin of her father slowly turned into a dark frown.

"What's wrong?" she asked with a small hiss in her voice. "Well, everything that happened ever since we left Elmore!"

"Look, Penny," her father stated. "We came here because…"

"Because you've got a job transfer! Why not find another in the state at least?"

"It's very complicated and…"

"You've said that every single time I ask you the very same question! Why not tell me now!"

Penny was furious now. So was her father.

"Would you just… agh! Your not staying at our place for the rest of your career!"

"Frederick!" Ms Fitzgerald barked.

Penny turned away saying, "So be it."

Emotionlessly, her parents watched her walk away. There was no way to stop her, since they were no longer her legal guardians. She was as free as the wind. The two knew that Penny would come back soon. There was one thing left that they haven't taught her.

Penny, minute by minute, walked further and further towards the centre. Soon, she was absent from the vision of her parents. She was now free from the grasp of her parent's supervision and safety. She was out of the cradle.

Penny passed by numerous amounts of bricked boutiques and shops until she reached her wee two storey bricked terrace. It was down this road with trees in both sides and bricks fully covering the pedestrian.

She pulled her keys out and searched through for the house key. She had random keys for almost everything from her bike to her handbag. Penny pulled out a rusty key and inserted it into the door lock, unlocking it.

The door opened, revealing her well maintained lounge room. There were only two seats and pictures on the burnt fireplace. All of them depicted her and her family in Paris - all except for one. The one which depicted her and her crush, Gumball.

Penny approached the fireplace, shutting the door behind her. She held the picture of Gumball and dusted it with her finger.

She missed him more than anybody else in Elmore. Every night, she had nightmares about how they met for the last time and never met ever since. Most girls would love to be in her position right now - famous, loved and flirted. But Penny would trade these elements for Gumball.

She really wished that he came.

• • •

In a skyscraper at San Francisco, an employee was having a meeting with his boss, regarding his job future. He was worried because of his job history of being fired a hundred and nineteen times. This was his only steady source of income and it would've killed a part of him if he was cut off.

Fingers crossed, he listened to his boss, hoping for a positive statement.

"Gumball Watterson, I'd like to say that you will be promoted to be our photographer there in Europe and you will have a 75% income increase," the old cupcake woman said, in her raspy monotone voice. "Congratulations."


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

Gumball drove his Hybrid into the parking space underneath his apartment. There stood his fiancée, Carrie Krueger. The blue cat parked his car beside her and tightened his tie. He got off the car with a haughty smile.

He pulled his sunglasses down to the tip of his nose and the start of his whiskers, to see the beautiful ghost in front of him. She had the same worried look that she had when she saw Gumball be claimed by the underworld.

"What's the news?" she asked very silently but worriedly. "Did you get fired like last week?"

Gumball chuckled as he locked the car. He placed his hand on Carrie's shoulder.

"She said that I would be promoted to be the photographer at Europe," Gumball smiled. "Will it be alright if we move to Europe?"

"Wait, is it permanent?" Carrie asked Gumball, curiously.

Gumball's slight smile turned to a grin. He nodded, feeling Carrie's hands on his shoulders. They both gave each other a passionate kiss. They separated and smiled at each other. Carrie hugged Gumball tightly.

"Thank you, Gumball."

* * *

"Trois deux un," the cucumber said, while holding the camera. "Épatant!"

Penny, wearing a dress and a beret was doing a pose in a studio somewhere in the outskirts of Paris. It was for the new commercial by L'Oreal. After doing a bit more poses, the cameraman let her go. After a sloppy "Au revoir", the peanut walked towards the bus stop by the façade of the studio.

As she waited, a slice of pizza, a rather handsome one for his kind, stood beside her. Penny inched slowly away from the suspicious man, only to see him follow her. He was starting to creep Penny out. Looking at the man (who tried his best not looking at Penny), Penny remembered her love, Gumball. She thought of what he'd do. He would've ran away screaming.

Without thinking, Penny ran away screaming the French translation of stalker. The man waved his hands, kneeling on the ground, crying.

"Je t'aime, Mademoiselle Fitzgerald!" the pizza cried. "Je ne suis pas harceleur!"

Panting, Penny stopped by a corner, leaning on the façade of the old bricked house by her. Behind her was a voice - it sounded quite American. Penny dared to look where it came from. There floated a ghost, talking to someone on the phone. He seemed very familiar to Penny.

"So you're going with your fiancé to tour from Paris? Amazing!" he exclaimed, while smoking some tobacco. When he placed his pipe down, he saw Penny looking at him. He frowned. Penny hastily turned around and walked away. "Wait a sec."

"Hey, you!"

Penny paled. Now that was weird - shouting English at someone randomly walking on the pavement. Well, in Europe, people learn more than three languages so, it'd be an exception. Penny forced herself to turn around and face the man.

"M-m-me?"

"Yes, you!" he exclaimed, pulling on a grim face.

Penny reached for her leather wallet in her straw-like handbag, fearing that he'd steal it.

"W-what do you want from me?" Penny stammered.

"Why were you listening to my call?"

"I wasn't," Penny mumbled.

The ghost teleported in front of Penny, taking her by surprise. Penny could smell the scent of tobacco from his breath.

"Then why the hell were you standing by me?"

"You looked like someone that I know…" Penny stammered.

He was now poking her with the polished tobacco pipe he used.

"Here's one thing you might wanna know before you do your shitty thing - I'm not your freaking mother."

He teleported away from the girl as soon as he finished his statement. Penny was left there, frozen like ice. She never heard anybody speak to her in that manner. She imagined if Gumball was there, with her. He would've tried beating the ghost up with a stick or a rubbish bin's lid - with his overprotective personality.

Penny closed her eyes and held tight the golden necklace the Gumball gave her, a long time ago. She never knew why he gave her the necklace for her birthday. She never knew why Gumball offered so much.

Penny shed a tear, thinking of the dark past she endured, when she moved to Paris. She was sent to two boarding schools - both in which she suffered. There were many girls who picked on her - just because she was new and gullible. To encourage Penny's feelings, she remembered how she always looked at her class photo. And how it got ripped apart by some other students.

Penny placed sunglasses on and decided to go to the Louvre, to take a look at the quiet an beautiful paintings that former painters produced. She'd always go there every afternoon, after hours of posing.

On her way to the museum, she saw many couples together - walking, hugging or sitting. Penny predicted that she wasn't to end up anywhere there. She was far too formal to make new relationships. At least she thought so.

Looking up, she saw the marmalade sky - the same one she saw yesterday, when her father told her off. There, she would see planes and helicopters - every one of them she would research. She wanted to know if one of them came from Elmore or brought Gumball with it.

Penny stopped and decided to walk back home. She didn't want to be seen. She wanted to be anonymous and invisible in the prestigious city of love, for she was one of the persons without it.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

Penny was deep at sleep, on her soft white bed, when her phone rang. She shot up and woke her iPhone 5S. On the notifications tray, it stated that her cameraman will be holidaying and that another would replace him until the official holidays. He told her to be nice and welcoming to him - since he was new to the business and he was just another photographer from some international organisation. He also told him there was no poses for tomorrow.

Penny just flopped to her bed, tired and restless. Trying to sleep, she changed her postures three times. She shot up, once again, to try and refresh. She felt that she wanted to wake up, yet she physically didn't. She opened her iPhone's browser, and slowly sunk into it. As time flew, the sunlight slowly flowed into her cold room.

Penny, exhausted after texting to her friends up in Britain, stood up to get a cup of coffee. She did all of her morning business and set off. Her red dress and straw hat attracted many people on the way to her job. Some of them - including the pizza man - stalked her all the way.

When Penny got near the studio, the stalkers stood by the bus stop, pretending to read the newspaper. Penny noticed them, seeing that the newspapers were upside down. She gave a little chuckle and entered the studio, leaving the stalkers lovestruck.

"Bonjour, Monsieur… Gumball!?" Penny stood there, shocked, looking at the blue cat on the camera. He, too, was surprised.

"Is that Penny Fitzgerald?" he asked for clarification.

Penny nodded shakily. Gumball smiled at her.

"How?" Penny stammered.

"I got offered a job promotion and my…"

Penny ran up to Gumball and hugged him - which made him blush madly. He heard Penny softly sob on him. She never sobbed like that ever since the day she left. That was when she cried. Gumball always saw the strong side of her - a person full of integrity, spirit and persistence. This was the only time he saw her soft side - a person without any connections, cut from the outside world and is very vulnerable to everyone, including herself.

"All of those years," Penny stammered underneath her tears, "I had to live without happiness. But now you came… Gumball, I… I miss you."

Penny looked up, to see Gumball - who was now higher than her. Gumball saw, not a peanut in despair, but a flower blossoming in spring. He remembered how attractive she was.

Penny stopped hugging Gumball, the cat saw the peanut sitting at a seat in the corridor, looking out a window. Gumball remembered how his client asked him to ask whoever was there if there was a problem, but Penny was the only one. He thought it would bother Penny if he asked her.

To be very polite to Penny, Gumball tried finding the switch for the camera. He bit it, he threw it, he stomped on it, he placed his eye on the eyehole and he started chewing on it. He finally gave up and dropped on the ground. Penny looked down at him and pulled on a smile.

She laid her head on the chair beside her and slept, after the tireless night she endured. Gumball stood up, and groaned to see Penny asleep. It was a pain not being able to do his work. He tried more and more of his techniques.

Hours passed and he finally got the camera on. Sadly, it was dismissal. Penny's iPhone rung, signalling it was time to go.

"Hey, Gumball," Penny yawned. "Do you have spare time?"

Gumball started, "I'm sorry, it's just that" - Carrie and - "I are planning my" - honeymoon - "trip" - with Carrie - "to Britain."

Penny sighed, letting a frown take her smile again. "Okay."

"Well, see you, Penny!" Gumball called, while leaving the studio.

Penny stayed there, shocked that Gumball was going to leave this time. She was only to stay with him for a short time and thus, she must do something worthwhile, still clueless of Gumball's marriage.

The peanut just drifted asleep, dreaming of a kiss from Gumball.

• • •

"So, what happened today, Monsieur?" Carrie asked with a smile, while chopping the onions she got from the market.

As Gumball entered he said, "Uh, I met a model" - named Penny, the same girl from Elmore - "who, er, helped me."

Carrie froze and teleported next to her fiancé. She hugged him, randomly. Gumball was utterly confused when she did so, until she explained herself.

"Gumball, I was just worried that she'd steal you from me."

"She never would - she never will."

"Is that a promise?" Carrie asked.

"Promise," Gumball nodded.


End file.
